A Touch of Innocence
by Dark Lord Link
Summary: To save his friend Rock from a world of pain, Link manages to deter Ivy's anger with a promise to return the favor. But as she takes him up on his promise, they both get more then they bargained for. A Link/Ivy one-shot. R&R please. Slight innuendo.


**Disclaimer: I do not Own Zelda or Soul Calibur. BEGONE LAWYERS! Hello reviewers!**

**Soul Calibur: A Touch of Innocence**

Link side-stepped Rock's axe, rolling forward and thrusting his shield into the behemoth British man's muscular stomach, forcing the large barbarian-like warrior to double over. Link brought his shield up and landed another blow on Rock's chin, causing the his head to shoot up at the sky and stumble back. Link twisted around and jumped up; grabbing rocks shoulder and pulling back. Rock fell back as Link intended him to just as the hero kicked up, throwing the axe wielder over him to land hard on his chest.

The crowd cheered as Link stood up wearily. Rock was not an easily defeated opponent, both had fought hard and exchanged throw and cut for parry and dodge. Both brutally injured warriors stood and shook hands honorably, smiling at each other in admiration for one another's skills.

"You did well, kid." Rock commented. Link gave a rare smile on his usually emotionless face.

"Thank you. And I had yet to fight someone so honed in their skills as you, sir Rock." He admired, politely. Rock gave a thunderous laugh in good nature, draping a huge hand around the younger warrior in a buddy-buddy thing, the two had been solid friends since they met four days prior, but only today had they tested their skills against each others.

"Just call me Rock, Link. If I was a knight, I wouldn't be here." He responded sarcastically for the third time since they met.

The young Hylian shrugged. In the stands, a very amused set of mischievous icy-blue eyes watched in pride as Link and Rock walk off the arena towards the healer's quarters. The mysterious figure stood up, her short white hair rustled by the wind, her usual wear changed for something more formal. Link felt the eyes on him, but ignored it all the same.

"So, what brought you here, lad?" The giant man asked. Link's small smile instantly disappeared, replaced by his usual hard look.

"One sword. Born of flames, forged by massive evil energy." Link explained.

"Ah, your here for Soul Edge too. What, pray tell, is your purpose for searching?" Rock asked curiously with a hint of suspicion, removing his arm from Link's shoulder.

"It threatens my home. I've been sent to find it and destroy it." Link answered. Rock raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you said you came from an entirely different plane of existence." Rock commented.

"Soul Edge has opened a portal in my realm, and sent a wizard to ravish the kingdom I was born in. The princess called on me to find the wizard and stop him before he brought any more chaos to the land. It was then I discovered that he was possessed by a shard." Link explained. Rock nodded, his explanation made much more sense.

"I see. Care for a drink at the bar, laddy? Or have you some other plans?" He offered the young elfin warrior. Link closed his eyes and looked away as he responded:

"I don't drink." He stated. Rock looked at him in surprise.

"Well, I can't help but go over board often, so you mind helping me if I get carried away like last time, lad?" Rock asked. Link gave an amused and quiet chuckle, he remembered the night before all too well. Rock got kicked out of the bar because he got to friendly with the ladies, had it not been for Link, Rock would had to have faced Ivy's wraith.

"I suppose I could offer some assistance. We wouldn't want Ivy and the others going on the rampage again, wont we?" Link's low toned sarcastic response reached Rock's ears with a mix of amusement and something else.

"Aye, those lasses can be scary when they wants to be. You should know what I'm talking about, eh?" Rock commented. Link frowned.

"All too well, indeed." He answered in a disturbed voice, which was the other part in his tone from his previous comment.

"How did you calm Ivy down anyway?" Rock asked curiously. Link had convinced the female group to calm down, but Ivy wanted something in return for her restraint.

"Let us just say that some things are better left unsaid, shall we? Oh, and you owe me big time for that." Link said with a mid-level glare. Rock chuckled.

"Come now laddy, it couldn't of been that bad! What could she have possible have done to little old innocent you?" He asked laughing. Link only frowned as the memories of the previous night came back to him...

***The previous night***

Link was walking alone in the hallway of the tournament mansion, where the contestants stayed in. The walls were lined with beautiful paintings of angels, stars, and occasionally the portrait of the previous champions. Currently, the title belonged to a German knight named Siegfried. It was almost pitch black in the hall, there was no torches on the wall to provide light, and only the glow of the moon gave Link the sight to maneuver in the shadows of the corridor.

It was the middle of the night, Link was tired to say the least. He was on his ways to his dorm, he needed the sleep badly, holding back the furious dominatrix, Ivy, proved a task almost too much for him. Luckily, she agreed to a truce. But her terms frightened even the Hero, he agreed, but for certain reasons never intended on keeping his word. She had something in mind, but she wouldn't let on what, Link hoped it wouldn't be too late for him to back-out. Ivy had a reputation for being crafty, cold, cruel and mischievous. He hoped she would understand.

As he walked, he felt a presence nearby. Link decided to brush it off, musing that it was probably another one of the shy, young, handmaids that worked in the tournament.

Suddenly, a hand covered his mouth and an arm snaked around his chest. Before he could react, he was dragged off into a nearby room and thrown onto a bed, effectively knocking the wind out of his lungs and stunning him briefly.

Looking up after regaining his breath, he made out the faint silhouette of a person standing in the doorway. The figure closed the door quietly and slowly, then began to saunter over to him.

"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Link asked angrily. He couldn't defend himself properly if this person was armed, he didn't have his sword with him. Weapons were not allowed in the pub.

A familiar seductive chuckle came from the figure, Link's eyes widened.

"Feisty, aren't we? I like that." The sultry voice of Ivy spoke in the darkness of the plain room.

"Oh Ivy, why did you attack me so?" he asked, regaining his previous anger. Ivy sat down beside him, he could feel that dangerous smirk on her face, taunting him.

"We did have a deal, my young Link. Our bargain was I wouldn't touch your friend Rock and in return, you would have to do something for me. Did you forget?" she asked him, using a mock hurt tone.

Link was speechless. He hoped to avoid her until she dropped it. But it seemed fate was shining her cruel light on him once more.

"What did you have in mind...?" he asked quietly, fearing the answer. Ivy flicked her wrist and Valentine, which Link had failed to notice was present, curved around and wrapped around his wrists, holding them above his head and pinning him down.

"What are you doing?" He asked, a bit of panic seeping into his voice. He had a crush on Ivy, but he never thought much on it. His mind was always on the battlefield as it had been most of his life. Not too mention the fact she might downright laugh in his face if he ever told her.

"What I had in mind." Ivy stated casually, still flashing her trademark smirk. She leaned down and cupped his cheeks into his hands and kissed his lips. Link, never having had a kiss before, sat there in total shock. His body was numbed by Ivy's approach, her hands rustled his hair slightly.

When she reluctantly broke the kiss, passionate that it was, she smiled at his fearful expression and red cheeks.

"Don't worry you silly boy. I won't bite...hard." she stated breathlessly, hinting that it wasn't going to go too far, making his eyes bulge further.

For an hour after that, Ivy had Link's neck, ears, and mouth all to her. She gnawed at his ears and neck line, as promised she didn't bite him too hard. The passionate kisses she gave him made them both feel light headed, though she was enjoying this, Link was not. Both breathed a little heavily as Ivy continued her act. She even gagged him to make sure he didn't start yelling in panic. She rubbed his chest affectionately as she held him a little tighter.

Being this close to Link was sending waves of emotions foreign to Ivy through her being. Ivy, contrary to popular opinion, was not the kind to bed any man she could get her hands on. In fact, she still retained her purity, much to everyone elses' disbelief.

The revealing battle garments she wore was merely a strategic advantage to throw her opponents off concentration. And it worked more then she hoped for, especially to the men who gawked at her constantly. The women however, were merely blinded by rage of Ivy's rather suggestive wear that had most taken men drooling for her.

Link however, was the only male warrior to not allow Ivy's suit upset his concentration. She admired him for that, and his self-control. For some reason she could not figure out, he meant a great deal to her. Thus why she decided to take his offer as a means of showing how she felt for the young warrior of seventeen.

Her feelings developed early on in the tournament, but she wasn't certain what they were until she suddenly realized it one night as she lay in her bed. Her mind was on him constantly, the only other person who knew was Sophitia. Thanks to the Athenian, she discovered that she indeed had developed feelings for Link. Though Sophitia had never really found out it was Link that Ivy felt so deeply for.

When she finally let him go, he made a mad dash out of the room without looking back. Ivy's cruel nature laughed hard at the look on his flustered face as he disappeared into the hallway, running as fast as his teenage legs would carry. But deep inside her, the part of her that was not masked by her stronger appearance, worried that she may have over-done it.

On the way, Link rammed right into Taki who was also on her way to her dorm. He was going so fast, the impact sent them both to the ground. They rolled around until they finally came to a stop.

"Link! What's going on?" She exclaimed, both cheeks flustered, she was on top of him, straddeling his torso, and her face was an intimate distance apart from each other.

"Can't talk now, gotta go!" He yelled as he got up, almost throwing her off him, then he dashed away. Taki only blinked, she could here laughter coming from down the hallway Link had just came from. She watched Link's retreating form with a hint of worry, the spooked look in his eyes was new for her to see. It took alot to scare Link.

"Link, wait!" she called out to him, but he continued. The laughter was now very close.

"What have we here?" Ivy said as she walked up. Her colder self returning.

"Did you do something to him?" Taki demanded, glaring darkly at her nemesis as she stood to face the British lady.

"My my my, what ever do you mean, dearest Taki?" Ivy asked in mock surprise.

"Enough! What did you do?" Taki shouted.

"I merely claimed my prize for my restraint." Ivy responded in a non-caring tone. Taki used every bit of will power to hold herself from attacking the older woman.

"You had better not have hurt him..." Taki warned.

"Oh I didn't, I just had a little fun is all. The poor boy is so innocent in the company of others, it's cute how he responds to a woman." Ivy explained, ignoring the murderous look Taki was giving her.

"Oh come off it, we had a deal, he had to hold up his end." Ivy added irritably before leaving a now confused ninja in the hallway. That last statement was only half true.

***Current time***

The two friends entered the pub, as always it was crowded and separated into two groups. The men were sprawled around the bar, and the women gossiped and talked among one another at the large, king-sized dining tables. Occasionally, some of the female warriors would talk with their male friends or in Cassandra, Xianguah, and Talim's case, joining their consorts; Siegfried, Kilik, and Yun-Seong respectively.

Link glanced over at the women's table and fearfully saw Ivy's eyes locked on his with that smirk of hers. He quickly averted his gaze elsewhere. Rock had already begun drinking ale, and Sophitia was having a friendly conversation with him. Taki, he could tell as one of his closer friends, was watching him and Ivy closely. He could feel her and Ivy's gaze on his back.

'_Damn, I hope she didn't find out..._' He cursed mentally. Link sat down at a table by himself, the one furthest away from the crowd. Hoping to Farore that Taki didn't join him like she always did on occasion, because she could tell when something was wrong. She always _knew_ when he was bothered.

The band was playing some slow tunes this night in the pub. The men were quieter then usual, and the women seemed relaxed enough.

Lo and behold, the goddess Farore didn't seem to hear Link's pray this night. He caught the sight of Taki's approaching figure, he gulped nervously.

"May I?" she asked from behind him, gesturing to a chair. Link sighed.

"Of course Taki, you know you don't need to ask." He answered. She looked at him with a warm smile.

"Manners, Link, manners." she chided playfully.

"Right." he retorted, he made a mental count down on when her questioning would begin, and right on cue, she asked:

"So, what happened? What had frightened you so badly the other night?" she asked looking at him with reassuring eyes. Both hands she held in front of her, and for a brief moment, she gave a glare to a giggling Ivy whom was watching the two.

"Nothing Taki, nothing at all." he answered. She chuckled before she responded.

"You know, I still have the bruise you unintentionally gave me from our little encounter." she informed, hiding her blush as she remembered their rather awkward position.

"I am truly sorry about that, had I but known, I wouldn't have ran into you..." He apologized when she cut him off.

"It's alright, it isn't too serious." she said chuckling some more.

On the other side, a drunk Raphael stumbled up to Ivy. He spoke to her in his slurred tongue, almost tripping and landing in her lap.

"On-shon-tai, mon cheri." he greeted in that french accent. She grimaced at the amount of alcohol that struck her nostrils. He tried to move in closer to her, but she threw a punch with her left fist, connecting with his jaw and effectively knocking the noble Frenchman out cold. She grinned and looked back at Link and Taki, who witnessed the whole thing.

Link tried to suppress a laugh, it escaped his throat as a quiet chuckle. Taki was giggling away at the face Link was making, trying to hold his laughter in.

Letting it go finally, they laughed all the way. Unknowing that Ivy snuck up on the two.

"I see you found it all amusing." An amused Ivy said from behind Link. At the sound of her voice his eyes instantly grew small.

"Oh cheer up, dearest, I'm not going to tease you any more. Once was quite enough." she assured as she wrapped both hands around Link's slightly broad shoulders, resting her cheek against his and smiling blissfully wide and her eyes closed lightly.

Taki watched as Link's cheeks grew a deep crimson color and he tilted his head a bit to look at her. Ivy seemed pretty happy about something, though neither of the two friends knew what it was. Taki had an idea, but Link was oblivious to such things.

"Link? May I speak with you in private?" Ivy asked, already dragging him away from his table. Taki moved but Link gave her a small reassuring smile. He waved goodbye to her rather idiotically as he disappeared into the hallways with Ivy.

She opened a door and let him in. It was the same room from their last encounter. Link fealt his heart quicken and his eyes widen.

Ivy took notice and draped her arms around him to hush his fears.

"Don't worry, That is not why I brought you here. I need to tell you something..." she admitted. Link looked at her questionably.

"What would that be?" he asked.

Ivy searched for the right words, this wasn't going to be easy.

"Since you arrived, well...You brought me this light. You gave me a reason to open my eyes up in the morning. Before I met you, I had nothing but a hole in my heart...Link..." She trailed off.

Link sat there, his face giving signs of a blush, but he was used to listening to other's problems, he helped them in that sense. If Ivy needed to vent her locked away feelings, he would be there for her. He secretly cared about her, though he wouldn't admit it to even himself.

'_Is it even possible to be loved by someone so young? Could he care for someone like me?_' She thought, hoping he would.

"Link...I..." she tried again as a throbbing pain emerged in her heart. She had to say it now, steeling herself of her pride and courage, she shouted what her heart had to say, as her icy barrier melted by her love for him released her inner voice form it's prison.

"_I love you!_" She yelled with every fiber of her being, her gaze not meeting his. The throbbing of her heart eased, and she released a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding. Link sat there, he couldn't speak, he couldn't move he was frozen in place.

She could not belief she actually said it. It was so hard before to even think about it, but she did it. She looked up into Link's face seeing his stunned features. She worried about how he felt. Link's cheeks were burning as fiercely as Ivy's were.

"...Y-you love me...?" he whispered uncertainly, Ivy nodded silently as she inched closer to him. He made no objection. He must have fallen silent again, he stared at the floor. Ivy sat next to him, still in her battle suit, wrapping her hands around him again, her finger's grasping the green fabric of his tunic as she rested her cheek against his for the second time tonight. Link was still in deep thought.

He never experienced this before. He did not know what he was supposed to do, or say.

Ivy's warm lips placed themselves on his cheek, drawing him from his thoughts. He turned to her, wrapping his arms around her as well. She may have the height advantage over him, bu the didn't care. Nor did she.

Link's blue eyes locked with hers for a moment. Ivy savored the moment, as Link's lips enclosed on hers. She embraced him tighter, making the kiss even more powerful then it was already. Link's arms held her tightly as she moaned into his mouth. She traced kisses on his neck line, and he did the same.

"Ivy..." Link whispered. She slowed down, pecked his nose gently and waited, "I..Love you." he whispered. Ivy's eyes lit up with an un-shone happiness, she uncharacteristically buried her head in his neck.

'_Thank you..._' she sent a silent prayer to whomever may have been watching over her.

With Link to spend her days with, the two lay down and fell asleep quickly.

On the outside of the door, Taki watched the two as they confessed.

'_Well, this was certainly unexpected..._' she thought.

At least they found some happiness in their lives at last. With a smile on her face, Taki let the two be and left for the pub once more. When Link and Ivy emerge, she hoped to see them together. She wanted nothing but happiness for Link, who was like her brother, and if he chose Ivy, '_She better take care of him._' Was all she thought before she pushed the doors opened and entered the pub.

**END**

**A/N: Link and Ivy, there you have it. That was my longest one-shot I have written on this pairing. I always thought that Ivy had an inner goodness that was masked by an outwardly colder appearance, hope you guys agree with me. I don't much fancy the idea of her being a sex-crazed dominatrix, anyhow. I also thought it better if she was still pure. That way, it made more sense, at least to me it did. Ahem, As far as my knowledge goes, she never had anyone else that she 'canonly' loved, not that I would follow that anyway because I like being a rebel. :p**

**I'll be writing another One-shot soon on Link/Taki. So for all you guys who really enjoy those two, keep your hopes high!**


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